Modern storage media includes not only media that store data in a physically sequential manner, such as traditional magnetic and optical storage media, but also media that store data in a physically random manner, such as solid-state-based storage media. Such physically random media allow any one block of data to be accessed as efficiently as any other block of data. These, and other, physical differences between the various storage media commonly available today result in storage media that differ in capability, attributes and performance. For example, magnetic and optical media require a reading and writing apparatus that physically moves from the physical location of the device head to the physical location of a block. Consequently, the speed with which such storage media can read or write data is dependent upon the proximity of the locations of the data on the media, since the device head must physically transition from one location to the other. Conversely, solid-state storage media can read and write data through electrical signals without requiring any physically moving parts. As a result, the data stored on such media can be written, or read, with efficiency that is not dependent upon the particular location of the data on, for example, rotating media.
From the perspective of usage within data center environments, solid-state storage media are perceived as having specific performance advantages over magnetic storage media. For example, solid-state storage media are generally regarded as being more power efficient, more heat-tolerant, and less prone to physical disturbances and failures than magnetic storage media, since, as indicated previously, solid-state storage media can comprise no moving parts. Such advantages can be substantial in data center environments, where operating such data centers at higher temperatures can result in monetary savings resulting from less energy utilization by cooling apparatuses, and where the increased power efficiency of the solid-state storage media can result in further monetary savings from less energy utilization by the storage media themselves. Additionally, solid-state storage media are generally regarded as being able to both read and write data more quickly than magnetic storage media, which can provide benefits in data center environments, as well as other computing environments.
Unfortunately, solid-state storage media are often orders of magnitude more expensive, for a given amount of storage capacity, than magnetic storage media. Such expense derives in large part from inefficiencies in the packaging of solid-state storage media. In particular, solid-state storage media are comprised of individual, transistor-based blocks that store bits of data. Such blocks are manufactured on wafers, which are divided into die pieces that can be sliced out of the wafer. Each die can comprise thousands, or even millions, of such blocks, and one or more dies can form the basis of solid-state-based storage media. The individual solid-state blocks can have differing capabilities, with some blocks being capable of greater performance and/or endurance than other blocks. In building solid-state-based storage media from dies, the failure of die, including the failure to achieve certain performance or endurance thresholds, can result in the entire solid-state-based storage media to be considered unfit for resale. Such exacting standards can result in substantial waste, increasing the cost of solid-state storage media.